Problem Solution: Global Communications

Problem Solution: Global Communications

Global communications is a communication company faced with the decisions that any company is faced with when there is competition. This analysis is a comparison of the companies problems that they face moving into the future and goals they want to achieve. By comparing the loss to the gains you are able to make a decision based upon what is right for the company. This synopsis can also be used for future events as and company moves into the future. Using a scenario such as GC's ethical dilemma, you can see what decisions can be avoided in the growth of future companies.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

In this analysis we take the issues that GC is faced with and the opportunities that that may arise because of these events. The hardest part of this breakdown is understanding and identifying the issues, and giving reprise through opportunity. The most obvious issues that GC is faced with is shown in table 1. The issues that I have singled out for this analysis are finding new opportunities, outsourcing woes, and union relationships.

New opportunities are something a company must try to accomplish to stay ahead of the market. If not to accomplish anything, new technology will help the company to stay in afloat in a very bloated service. Communication groups have competitive issues everyday as prices drop, more services are offered and outsourcing becomes not just a money saver but a necessity. By adopting a new technology such as satellite communication and distributing internet communication GC is able to offer it's customers a wider range of services and offer those services to members that could not have the services before due to line constrictions.

Outsourcing is a way for a company to recoup monies by taking a service and placing it to a 2nd or 3rd world country solely to save money. Outsourcing allows cheaper labor while allowing the company to grow larger by offering it's new services. This type of company structure is not always good and could lead to possible service and support issues to it's current customers. Does risking the service levels to lower the cost of national labor justify losing

customers because your support staff cannot speak English? If the outsourcing solution works, the company will save a surmountable amount of money, but the question is is it worth it in the long run?

Union relationships with companies date as far back as the first railroads, and coal mines. Unions were initially formed to protect those workers from work injuries and pay compensation. Today the motive has changed a little as companies have changed strategies and offer competitive workman's comp, and insurance. Unions still exist as a way to protect those workers that are members that raises be made effectively and that work load is distributed properly by pay and job title. Many companies still today have unions involved and they can be headaches as well as a blessing. The right relationship with a union will mean that you can always depend on that resource for employees as needed. But the wrong relationship could prove to be fatal to a business as they could strike and then take the company down if there are enough demands, and members to the union to do so. So the question here is, do you try to keep the relationship with the union or move forward with the outsourcing?

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

GC has many stakeholders as does any business dependent upon it's customers and current and future assets. To many companies, customers are seen as the biggest stakeholder as they are using the service, and most importantly paying for the services. Without the customer, a company with services to offer will not make it in the world today. Another big player is the union, as they provide the company with employees and fair treatment across the employees for a happier organization. Another stakeholder is the current employees that are not union.

Stakeholders can make and break a company, as if the employees, union, or customers are not happy the company will fail. As a company decisions have to be made in the best ethical way as to the future of the company. In the GC scenario, do you lay off a bunch of workers, and not notify the union while picking up an outsourced company? Customers will then be affected as well. Is it worth possibly severing ties with the union in hopes that current employees with good track records will stick around and the future development will have the stamina it needs to continue into the future?

Problem Statement

It is obvious that GC wants to stay afloat in their market, and to do so they must be competitive. Being competitive requires skilled decisions, and researched marketing approaches and tools. GC needs to enhance their product and save capital while doing so. GC will become the top of their market if they can offer a new product while allowing stakeholders and employees the opportunities for future plans. It is difficult to please everyone, but the company will be successful if the employees stay happy about their environment, and future opportunities. GC needs to be able to bring in new technology to enhance their market awareness, while also keeping the peace with all stakeholders.

Alternative Solutions

One of the bad decisions that was made is that the decision to move forward and outsource was made without the attempt to notify the union and employees. Understanding that it was an executive decision made for the benefit of the company, it affect both employees and other stakeholders in the company. I believe if the executives understood the affect of the decision they should have performed more proactive research to find out if the change